Title The Clinical and Genomic Epidemiology of Rhinovirus in Homeless Shelters-King County, Washington.
Author Chow, Eric J; Casto, Amanda M; Roychoudhury, Pavitra; Han, Peter D; Xie, Hong; Pfau, Brian; Nguyen, Tien V; Sereewit, Jaydee; Rogers, Julia H; Cox, Sarah N; Wolf, Caitlin R; Rolfes, Melissa A; Mosites, Emily; Uyeki, Timothy M; Greninger, Alexander L; Hughes, James P; Shim, M Mia; Sugg, Nancy; Duchin, Jeffrey S; Starita, Lea M; Englund, Janet A; Chu, Helen Y
Journal J Infect Dis Publication Year/Month 2022-Oct
PMID 35749582 PMCID PMC9384451
Affiliation + expend 1.Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

BACKGROUND: Rhinovirus (RV) is a common cause of respiratory illness in all people, including those experiencing homelessness. RV epidemiology in homeless shelters is unknown. METHODS: We analyzed data from a cross-sectional homeless shelter study in King County, Washington, October 2019-May 2021. Shelter residents or guardians aged >/=3 months reporting acute respiratory illness completed questionnaires and submitted nasal swabs. After 1 April 2020, enrollment expanded to residents and staff regardless of symptoms. Samples were tested by multiplex RT-PCR for respiratory viruses. A subset of RV-positive samples was sequenced. RESULTS: There were 1066 RV-positive samples with RV present every month of the study period. RV was the most common virus before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (43% and 77% of virus-positive samples, respectively). Participants from family shelters had the highest prevalence of RV. Among 131 sequenced samples, 33 RV serotypes were identified with each serotype detected for </=4 months. CONCLUSIONS: RV infections persisted through community mitigation measures and were most prevalent in shelters housing families. Sequencing showed a diversity of circulating RV serotypes, each detected over short periods of time. Community-based surveillance in congregate settings is important to characterize respiratory viral infections during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT04141917.

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